Leading Victorian trainer Troy Corstens has leapt to the defence of an apprentice jockey who was targeted in a nasty social media attack on Friday night.

Young jockey Liam Riordan was the subject of an abusive Facebook message following his second place finish on Divine Command at Moonee Valley on Friday night.

Corstens took to Twitter to expose the culprit of the expletive-laden message, saying punters who can’t handle losing should stay off social media.

“You send a message like this to a young kid that is still learning the game. It’s people like you that should stay off social media” Corstens said on Facebook.

The move to expose the culprit gained support from the Victorian Jockeys’ Association along with other industry leaders.

Have Your Say 🗣: What should be done about social media abuse from fans to jockeys? – Leave a comment below

I’ve seen some average stuff on social media when it comes to blokes bagging jocks recently. Some of the abuse would really shock you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but keep it to yourself. Not sure what this bloke would have got out of doing this! pic.twitter.com/cKtDQ9t1Js